Research Fellow

UCL - Department of Epilepsy

Location:LondonSalary:£43,981 to £52,586Hours:Full TimeContract Type:Fixed-Term/ContractPlaced On:13th November 2025Closes:3rd December 2025Job Ref:B02-09716

The mission of the Research Department of Epilepsy is to transform the lives of people living with epilepsy for the better by identifying, understanding, and correcting or preventing the underlying mechanisms leading to the epilepsies and associated comorbidities in each individual person. Our vision is to build upon the excellence and breadth of our research, seamlessly integrating basic and clinical science.

Research within the Experimental Epilepsy Group, which sits within the Research Department of Epilepsy, spans across fundamental mechanisms of vesicle fusion and synaptic transmission, ion channel biology, experimental models of epilepsy, the function of neural circuits, neurological diseases modelled in rodents and flies, and genetic therapies development.

We are now recruiting a Research Fellow to join the Group to work on a project funded by Servier, which is a global pharmaceutical company based in France governed by a foundation. You will use electrophysiology and molecular biology in human organoid models of neurodevelopmental diseases to test advanced genetic therapies. It will be supervised by Professor Gabriele Lignani and is in collaboration with Dr Amy McTague at UCL Institute of Child Health/Great Ormond Street Hospital.

The post is available from 05 January 2026 and funded until 30 November 2027 in the first instance.

If you need reasonable adjustments or a more accessible format to apply for this job online, or have any queries regarding the application process, please contact the Institute of Neurology HR Team (ion.hradmin@ucl.ac.uk).

Informal enquiries regarding the role can be addressed to Professor Gabriele Lignani (g.lignani@ucl.ac.uk).

For a full job description please visit UCL’s online recruitment portal (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/search-ucl-jobs) and search using vacancy reference B02-09716. To apply, please upload a current CV, complete the online application form, and use the supporting statement section or upload a cover letter to outline how you meet the essential and desirable criteria for the role. Please do not upload any additional attachments as these will not be considered by the selection panel.

You will have a PhD (or equivalent) in Neuroscience or a related discipline, coupled with experience of iPSC-derived organoids or neurons as therapeutic models, electrophysiological measures of iPSC-derived organoids or neurons, histology or advanced molecular biology methods, and neurological disease modelling or testing therapies in these model. Advanced IT proficiency including electrophysiological and imaging data processing and experience with statistical analysis programs, and excellent communication, interpersonal, and problem-solving skills are also essential for this role.

Appointment as Research Fellow is dependent upon having been awarded a PhD; if this is not the case, initial appointment will be as Research Assistant (salary £39,148 - £41,833 per annum) with appointment as Research Fellow being backdated to the date of final submission of the PhD thesis.

As well as the exciting opportunities this role presents, we also offer some great benefits; visit https://www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/reward-and-benefits to find out more.

Customer advert reference: B02-09716